By Will Dunham BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld flew
in to Baghdad on Wednesday, dispatched by President George W.
Bush to show support for Iraq's new prime minister in his
efforts to form a unity government. Heavy security measures snarled traffic around the capital.

By Gopal Sharma KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal's incoming government is likely
to offer Maoist rebels a ceasefire, political leaders said on
Wednesday and urged the insurgents to end a fresh blockade of
the capital.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Twelve suspected Iraqi militants and a
woman were killed in a U.S. raid and air strike on a house in a
town just south of Baghdad, the military said in a statement on
Wednesday. As U.S.

By Peter Apps COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's military launched new
strikes on Tamil Tiger areas in the island's northeast on
Wednesday, a day after a deadly suicide bomb attack blamed on
rebels shattered an already fragile ceasefire.

TOKYO (Reuters) - An architect at the center of a Japanese
scandal over fabricating data on buildings' ability to
withstand earthquakes was one of eight people arrested in
connection with the case on Wednesday.

LONDON (Reuters) - Police closed off parts of west London
on Wednesday and called in explosives officers after being
alerted to several suspect packages. Police advised motorists to avoid the Shepherds Bush and
Hammersmith Grove areas of the city.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran has asked the U.N. nuclear watchdog
to explain why Tehran should abide by international atomic
protocols when it gets so little in return, President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
made an unscheduled visit to Baghdad on Wednedsay just after
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld arrived in Baghdad in a show
of support for Iraq's new leadership.

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